About

"The reluctant Francophile..."

My husband Jack has always wanted to live in Paris and learn French. I thought it would be good for him to achieve his life time dream. Hence, we moved to Paris in 2008. My first year was difficult. I started "missives" to relieve some stress and chronicle my life so friends back in the US could read what I am experiencing. I currently write about my food and travel experiences, which is my passion.

It is definitely a challenge to live here, but each year it gets easier, and quite enjoyable, in large part because I value friendships over locale. I have a love/hate relationship with Paris as do most Parisians, mais La vie est belle (but life is good)!

At the suggestion of a good
friend, we went to Albion in the 10eme. Hayden Clout and Matt Ong are both graduates
of the “Fish la Boissonnerie,” a
restaurant where I’ve been to a couple of times and have thoroughly enjoyed. .

Nice window frame into the kitchen

My first impression when you
walk in, by Parisian standards it is a fairly large restaurant with tall
ceilings and big windows along the side that gave it an even larger feel. As
you enter there is a large bar to the right and a large wall of different wines
along the left side of the walls, which by the way, you can purchase. And, straight ahead was a short of peek-a-boo
large pass-through window where you can see into the kitchen.

It was a cold day in Paris, and we got a table in the middle front of the
restaurant close to the door. Not a bad table, but a bit on the drafty
side. We asked Hayden if we could switch
tables as soon as one became available.
He accommodated our needs as one became available. .

Hayden is very, very nice
and affable. Turns out he’s from Auckland, New
Zealand.
I mentioned to him I spent almost a month there, and in fact I have family in Christchurch. We chatted a little bit about the beauty of his
country and the recent earthquake. And, then we progressed to a discussion of
wines. It felt like I was talking to a friend
who I’ve known for years.

As we perused the menu, I
noticed its simplicity. They had a
selection of 3-entrées, 4-plats, 1 cheese plate, and 2 desserts. The menu changes occasionally. Since Hayden knows his wines, we left the
wine selection to his discretion, pairing it with dishes we ordered. I had a
special request though, both had to be white, since although I love red wine, I
cannot drink it for health reasons.

What immediately caught my
eye was the entrée of “velouté à l'ail, palourdes, huile au curry,”
(a creamy garlic soup with cherry neck clams in a curried infused oil). It’s a personal thing, but I do not like
foamy soups, but once I dug in and tasted it, I was in seventh heaven. The soup was delicious. The chef definitely
knew how to take out the acidity of the garlic and made it quite smooth. I would venture to guess that he slow roasted
the garlic first. The curry infused oil
was not shy, you could definitely taste the turmeric. With our first course, we were served a glass
of “Domaine de Villargeau.” It was a great pairing. The wine was a dry wine
with enough acidity to balance out our creamy soup.

For our plat, my friend
Marie got the “margret et confit de canard, purée de carrottes aux amandes, purée
d'herbs,” (duck breast confit with a puree of carrots with almonds and
pureed herbs). Marie said the duck was
delicious. At first we thought the pureed greens were spinach, because it was a
dark, dark, green color, but it turned out they were herbs. Not really sure what herbs though since there
wasn’t one strong flavor. Carrots were
delicious, but not as warm as the rest of the plate.

I had the “foie
de veau poêlé, purée de pommes de terre, sauce citron vert.” (liver pan
cooked with mashed potatoes and a green lime sauce). The liver was delicious, sliced very thinly
and cooked perfectly. The juxtaposition
of the potatoes with the citrus was a nice “ying-yang” for the dish. And, it was topped with a bacon strip, who wouldn't like that? Interestingly enough though, the citron sauce
was a deep purple color and had a little cooked down grape size fruit, I’m
thinking maybe currants? hence, the purple color, but I
forgot to ask. So, this dish was also a
hit.

For our plats, Marie had a
red wine “Saint Cosme, Cotes-du-Rhone.” I had a little sip of it and have to say
it was a really nice wine. Not too heavy and not too light, so it was a good
accompaniment to her duck. I had a white from Rousillon. It was a smooth, “wet”
wine, but not sweet. It’s the kind of wine that would be great to drink just
because you're thirsty.

NOTE: I’m not a wine connoisseur by any means, but
I prefer dry over sweet and can go from acidic to “wet.”

We opted, since we were quite
full, to share the cheese plate. Marie fell in love with the “branston pickles”
which we were told was their chutney. I’m sure if they bottled it, Marie
would’ve bought a dozen. The cheeses
were good. What surprised us even more
was that one of the cheeses was an “aged-cheddar.” It just so happened it was my favorite
cheese.

In summary: what a great
find. What’s even more shocking is that
the restaurant has only been open for 10-weeks.
I asked Hayden how they were able to make it run so smoothly in such a
relatively short period. He told us that since he and Matt worked together at
“Fish” for the past 10-years, like a marriage they were well tuned and in sync,
with running the “front of the house, and the kitchen.”

Our bill for 2-entrées, 2-plats, and 1-shared cheese plate, with 2-glasses each of great wine came to 40€ each. Before we left, we purchased
some of the wines we drank.

Chapeau to Hayden and
Matt. They don't have a "big" choice menu, I would have liked maybe a few more choices, but what they do have is executed well. I would highly recommend this
restaurant, in fact we’re going back next week and introducing it to some more
friends!

Hi Ruby... We can buy Branston Pickle in Paris too.. I have a jar in the fridge actually - but THIS chutney was home made, not dark brown and WOW! Randy's right, I'd have easily bought a few jars if they sold it!

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Disclosure

Since I am retired, I am not aspiring to be the next "blogger" extraordinaire. I write solely for my edification and to entertain my friends. I do not accept gifts, cash or free meals from restaurants or businesses that I may review or mention in my blog. Nor do I make a pre-announcement that I am reviewing a restaurant. I also do not accept paid advertisement.

Interview with Michelle Pozon

Interview with Chef Aaron Isip

Brief summary of my food philsophy......

“It’s not how well you can cook, but how well you can execute…”

I'm a big "lover of food" having gone to the California Culinary in SF as a hobby, and when I retired I ran a cooking club which included cooking demos as well as bringing in other "cooks" and local Chefs to share family recipes and/or provide cooking demos. I have helped Chefs develop menus, took part in wine and food pairing events, wrote restaurant reviews, assisted in test kitchens developing recipes, and I've even catered a few weddings.

Although I favor Asian/ethnic cuisine over European cuisine, I love to eat all foods. My philosophy has always been, when you travel visit the country's markets. Markets provide a wealth of information about a culture and it's people. Make no mistakes, I think French cuisine can be very good, but to me it is not the "be-all-end-all."

NOTE: As we all know, restaurants can improve or deteriorate. I will try to update my restaurant reviews, if there are any significant changes.